Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.

[TrevA]

I’ve been cycling for 47 years, I commuted to work by bike through rush hour traffic for 42 of those 47 years, I reckon I’ve done close to 200,000 miles on a bike. In that time, I’ve been knocked off my bike twice - one of those was whilst riding a time trial race on the A1, neither resulted in serious injury. I think that shows that cycling is, in my experience, a fairly safe activity.

Yes, I’ve had close passes, I’ve had very occasional argy-bargy with motorists, I’ve even been deliberately driven at once, but none of this has put me off cycling and I can’t say that I’ve ever been afraid to ride.

I do now record my rides with front and rear facing cameras, mainly because I can.

[TallestTim]

I’ve been cycling for 47 years, I commuted to work by bike through rush hour traffic for 42 of those 47 years, I reckon I’ve done close to 200,000 miles on a bike. In that time, I’ve been knocked off my bike twice - one of those was whilst riding a time trial race on the A1, neither resulted in serious injury. I think that shows that cycling is, in my experience, a fairly safe activity.

Yes, I’ve had close passes, I’ve had very occasional argy-bargy with motorists, I’ve even been deliberately driven at once, but none of this has put me off cycling and I can’t say that I’ve ever been afraid to ride.

I do now record my rides with front and rear facing cameras, mainly because I can.

Well, i'm glad that it's never put you off.

Doesn't mean it doesn't put others off.

[TallestTim]

Quick update.

Thanks for all the supportive words & posts, it's appreciated.

The last ride I did i had a Pass Pixi fitted (a speed camera type sign indicating dashcam on board) and even then had 2 pretty terrifying incidents, one a Must Get in Front and Slam On The Brakes from 40mph, the other an in lane close pass at speed despite oncoming traffic.

I've now bought a reasonably cheap car, and started driving to work - and the mental relief that comes with the knowledge that "others will treat me like themselves and are unlikely to assault me" I just can't put my fingers on it.

I've fitted my mountain bike with off road tyres rather than mostly flats, borrowed a dumb trainer from a friend and bought myself an Ant+ USB stick and a trainer tyre and put that on my road bike, and am currently downloading Zwift.

I hate the fact that a part of society has forced me into this, and that I'm now adding to the local congestion and air pollution, let alone the impact of having to lay out £2k just so that I can continue to get to work with a perception of being safer - or at least not shivering in fear at the end of a ride, and can "just stroll into the office", for the moment at least, anyway.

At least when i'm driving, i know i'm not going to close pass another rider, and can hopefully lead others by example.... that's how this works, yes?

[Vorpal]

I'm sad to read this, but totally understand. I hope that you will continue to advocate for safe infrastructure, and use it when it becomes available.

[Phil Fouracre]

A sad thread - so much to analyse, not sure what to advise! It’s always been a concern of mine, but, I made the ‘decision’, if that’s the right word, to take a ‘positive’ approach, as in ‘ride assertively, take the lane etc’. I’ve also worked on the assumption that nobody is actually setting out to do me harm! (maybe not in this particular situation!) But, I also ride on the basis that they are! also that they are inherently stupid!
So far it seems to be working - yes I do get close passes that do irritate, but you really have to forget them, otherwise they will destroy your confidence.
Ride this morning - twenty odd miles to local town on A and B roads - only close pass was an Audi with a bike rack on!! What can I say??

[simonineaston]

Really sad to read your opening post in this topic, Tim. It all sounds most unpleasant - and just so unnecessary. The repeated actions by one individual in particular amount to something completely different to straightforward bad driving... Best wishes for your efforts tackling this awful-sounding person.
I was reminded about decisions I made quite early on in my own cycle-commuting history, when I deliberately chose to seek out longer, safer, traffic-free routes, in preference to more direct main roads - and am grateful for the fact that mostly, over the history of three different jobs in three different locations, I've been able to do so. At times the most dangerous events I've had to endure has involved squirrels who have not brushed up on their green-cross code, large squidgy pats of horse poo and the occasional barky dog. In some ways I have felt blessed with Good Fortune.
While I worked at Unipart House at the back of the mini plant, I would potter down the tow-path, from my boat towards Cowley and it was then that I came nearest to a proper accident when I slipped on ice and stopped just short of going in the Isis, but other than that, I've been very safe and I'm glad that I've had the option - I'd rather cycle twice the distance than risk some of the main roads I could have used, but I do understand that not everybody is as lucky.
Hope everything pans out OK.

[TrevA]

Good luck with your newly chosen method of transport. I’ve not commuted regularly for about 5 years now and traffic and driver attitude does seem to be worse after the latest easing of lockdown.

I mostly worked in city centres where commuting by car was not really an option, unless you had deep pockets to pay for car parking. Speed of journey was also a factor. Driving the 9 miles into the office could take an hour if the traffic was bad, plus another 10 minutes to walk from the car park to the office. I could cycle it in 40 minutes consistently, regardless of traffic conditions. I was lucky in that I didn’t have to ride on main roads until the very last part of my journey.

[xerxes]

The last ride I did i had a Pass Pixi fitted (a speed camera type sign indicating dashcam on board) and even then had 2 pretty terrifying incidents,

Two on one ride? - are you sure your tolerance threshold is not too low? The best way to raise it is to keep cycling.

Are you 'taking the lane' rather than hugging the edge of the road? The latter is far more likely to encourage dangerous overtaking by motorists.

[cycle tramp]

Two on one ride? - are you sure your tolerance threshold is not too low? The best way to raise it is to keep cycling.

Are you 'taking the lane' rather than hugging the edge of the road? The latter is far more likely to encourage dangerous overtaking by motorists.

...I do hope we're not blaming the person who posted the thread for this situation... by arguing that the universe its actually a sentient environment which adapts and projects to your strongest feelings, whether these feelings are out of fear or hope (Illusions 'The Adventures of a Reculant Messiah' by Richard Bach)

[Vorpal]

The last ride I did i had a Pass Pixi fitted (a speed camera type sign indicating dashcam on board) and even then had 2 pretty terrifying incidents,

Two on one ride? - are you sure your tolerance threshold is not too low? The best way to raise it is to keep cycling.

Are you 'taking the lane' rather than hugging the edge of the road? The latter is far more likely to encourage dangerous overtaking by motorists.

in the last 2 years i've Bikeabilty Level 3, but I'm sure a refresher wouldn't hurt; however, i recognise the problem here isn't me, it's them....

Also.... people's tolerance levels vary, just because xerxes is not terrified by two near misses in one ride, doesn't mean Tim shouldn't be. Along the same lines... I have not been put off by having my leg shaved by someone using a BMW for other than intended purpose, but I completely understand why someone else would limit bike rides to country parks & quiet lanes after some of the near misses I have experienced.

[psvrichard]

It's a shame that this thread is even out there because nobody should be discouraged from cycling. I'd say the health benefits are so strong for cycle commuting but I don't know your commute. Some days I'm feeling confident about cycling and others less so. On days when I have an uneasy feeling I vary my route to incorporate cycle paths. I can do 90% of my commute off road but it adds 25% to my journey. There's a short stretch near my village that is quite twisty and is narrow too. If you can vary the route to make it safer I;d recommend that but it is an emotive decision if you can't do that. Best of luck with your choice.

[TallestTim]

The last ride I did i had a Pass Pixi fitted (a speed camera type sign indicating dashcam on board) and even then had 2 pretty terrifying incidents,

Two on one ride? - are you sure your tolerance threshold is not too low? The best way to raise it is to keep cycling.

I know you mean well, but if i can stick my elbow out and it touch the side of the vehicle with it as the driver passes at 40mph on a blustery day, it's not my tolerance that's the problem. And that's before you take the wing mirror into account. ..

Are you 'taking the lane' rather than hugging the edge of the road? The latter is far more likely to encourage dangerous overtaking by motorists.

Yes, which is why I'm often screamed at for "riding in the centre of the road" (obviously meaning lane) followed up with "you're not a car", and assaulted for it.

[Red Kite]

Yes, which is why I'm often screamed at for "riding in the centre of the road" (obviously meaning lane) followed up with "you're not a car", and assaulted for it.

It's appalling that you can be persecuted like that. I assume that is just this particular sociopath. Is there likely to be any progress with your complaint to the police? Frankly a spell at HM's pleasure wouldn't be disproportionate for what you have described.

As a driver, I like to see a cyclist riding primary. It clarifies the situation, we can both relax until he or she reaches a suitable overtaking spot. As a cyclist, I think it has become easier to take the lane over the last few years. Presumably some drivers (who may also be cyclists) have now become aware of why cyclists do it, and others have at least got used to it.

I don't know the answer to dealing with the minority that either hates cycles cyclists, or the simply ignorant, but I hope in this case something can be done.

[james01]

A huge confidence booster for me is a good rear view mirror. That, combined with the cyclist's sixth sense developed over many years has helped enormously. I use a Decathlon bar-end mirror which I've adapted for drops - it's a large mirror and gives a view on a par with a car door mirror.
If I find myself on a borrowed bike without a mirror I now feel quite vulnerable.
Regarding confrontations, whether verbal or physical, I would say the best advice is to imagine how your stress levels will be in few few hours time if the incident goes badly wrong. You could be injured, you may cause injury, a police case may arise which could drag on for months. So I now try to smile benignly at someone who's nearly run me over ( and believe me it's not easy ) and maybe have a good yell later when I've gone around the corner.

[recumbentpanda]

This is indeed a sad state of affairs. Twenty years ago I was reading comments online from cyclists saying they felt they had been forced off the roads. With the arrogance of youth I swore it would not happen to me.

Today I realise that all my regular routes for utility rides are ‘cringe routes’ -I just can’t deal with the stress of even light traffic, given the behaviour of drivers and the other big car problem: the sheer weight of on street parking reducing many roads to single carriageway with passing places and blocking sight lines at junctions.

Thirty years ago I did touring rides as well as utility and exercise rides. Back then I had a real feeling that I belonged to a class of road user recognised as legitimate. Now I feel the overwhelming weight of opinion among drivers is that cyclists shouldn’t be there, are a nuisance, are ‘children playing in the road’, and deserve everything they get.

My recognition of the situation has been slow to develop, I didn’t want to believe it was true, but an incident the other day brought the pigeons home to roost. It was a regular utility ride of mine that is normally quite OK, but on this occasion I happened to hit ‘Early Friday Bunking Off Rush Hour’ coinciding with ‘School Chucking Out Time’. The short, on road section of my route had heavy, slow moving traffic, negotiating with each other through pinch points. The car ahead of me accelerated slightly to pass through a parking-created single lane section. I was about to follow through when I saw a vehicle had already started to move through in the opposite direction, hoping to squeeze past the other no doubt. I slowed, as I would have done in a car, but just then a huge barge of a car behind me pushed past me very close, accelerating hard, only to stand on the brakes on seeing the traffic coming the other way. If I on a low rider recumbent could see the problem, why couldn’t they? I and the traffic behind me were forced to an emergency stop. What chilled me was that this was done within yards of a school gate and pedestrian crossing with large numbers of children and parents on foot. The sheer level of feral aggression in that driver, and the apathy towards the safety of other displayed by many others there made me just despair. I got off the bike swearing and walked it through a field rather than have to pollute my eyes with the sight of another car. This is a wretched state of affairs, and is only going to get worse. It is not going to be easy to solve, but needs root and branch change to so many aspects of society, mental, physical and economic. Right now I feel like the canary in the mine. It’s going to blow up, people.